Everything that I know about Senshido I got from their web page. So this is just a first impression.

Senshido looks very much like a military MA system adapted to civilian self-defence, Krav Maga for example. I hold the cynical view that any differences between the military and civilian versions of these systems is for marketing purposes and not for any real practicality. If anything the marketing changes are detrimental.

In general I think such systems are very good for beginners. From what I have seen these systems are well thought out.

You will not develop a high level of refinement to the techniques taught to you at these schools however. What these schools will teach you are simple yet effective techniques in a short period of time. Or it should be in a short time. If not, then itís the marketing changes I mentioned.

&lt;marquee>I'm an ex-street fighter and ex-con and I know a thing or two about fighting.&lt;/marquee>

Well, what makes a system. In the American army, hand to hand training consists of a single day-long session of really simple strikes and throws (judo type??). Beyond that, it depends on the unit, and whoever is the most experienced martial artist in the unit. When I was in Korea, our platoon got together twice a week and taught a variety of stuff. Some of us had wrestling, boxing or TMA experience, others did not. But when people are getting together twice a week to compare notes and fight each other, you can get some pretty good results, but it isn't a "system". My opinion is that the idea of self-defense systems for people who aren't going to train regularly or condition themselves is utterly futile, it is just a product. The best thing to do to teach such people to defend themselves is to give them a mixed bag of tricks

**The most miraculous power that can verifiably be attributed to "chi" is its ability to be all things to virtually all people, depending on what version of the superstition they are attempting to defend at any given moment.**

Normally, I'd say I was grappling, but I was taking down and mounting people, and JFS has kindly informed us that takedowns and being mounted are neither grappling nor anti grappling, so I'm not sure what the **** I was doing. Maybe schroedinger's sparring, where it's neither grappling nor anti-grappling until somoene observes it and collapses the waveform, and then I RNC a cat to death.----fatherdog

The army has always had a standard H2H system that changed over the years. But like Wastrel said after basic it was up to the unit or the individual.

Now there is a new system and the approach to soldiers is different. Responsiblity is still on the unit but it is supposed to be a part of the standard training calender. Which for my unit is twice a week during PT.

Senshido is NOT based on any military sytem. Just a quick cut/paste from their FAQ section:

Q. Is Senshido a Mixed Martial art or similar to what I see in the UFC or Pride?

A. Yes and no. On the surface, it may seem similar due to the fact that on a physical perspective, we cover all ranges of combat (Kicking, Boxing, Close Quarter Combat, Grappling and Groundfighting) but Senshido is a reality based system. What differs us from the MMA are the Emotional and Psychological components of violence reality presents but the sports arena does not. For example: There are no weapons in MMA events. Your opponent wonít pull out a knife in the middle of your bout and start gutting you with it. He wonít crack your arm with a baseball bat. He wonít break a beer bottle and try to severe your jugular with it. He wonít pull out a gun and shoot you with it. This is but one of many, many differences between street and sport.

A. Senshidoís founder Richard Dimitri has worked as a doorman, undercover security guard and body guard for over 10 years. His cumulative experiences in those fields have been extremely beneficial in the development of Senshido. Senshido and Combative Science Technologies have also taught law enforcement officers, security personnel, military personnel, bodyguards and martial artists worldwide. Richard is also a member of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers and is recognized by the International Police Defense Tactics Association. Our methodologies and principles have saved many lives for those who put themselves in harms way. (See Testimonials)

Benignsoul - I have been watching this post and I can not see what sets this apart from many other legit training centers. I did not use dojo so to included the non trad. martial arts. It appears you guys train hard and I applaud you dedication to your training, however you seem un willing to step back and evaluate the art using your own words. The cut and pastes you have provided can be found on most sites. I also know many people who help the SHOW BUSINESS crowd and most of them would be considered MCDOJO material. I am not saying this a nonlegit school/instructor. I want you to know that I like this forum because everyone questions statements ( especially when it sounds like a commercial) that are made and most , not all but most have solid backgrounds to provide insight from. It sounds like it works for you and not all can say that about thier school.

eat sleep train - the proof is in the pain

EAT SLEEP TRAIN

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After reading Jekyll's threads I bring back an old sig.......

Do you really train or just bore people on message boards and parties talking about it.

FukFu, not arguing semantics but like I said if there is someone out there that can show me a "Better" way, I'm all for it. Not trying to pit "FukFu" vs. Senshido, however I am very interested to find out your views on "What is lacking".

If you look at the bottom photo on this page, you will see two men demonstrating poor technique. Actually it looks like neither man has had any training.

&lt;marquee>I'm an ex-street fighter and ex-con and I know a thing or two about fighting.&lt;/marquee>

Let me get this straight, your going to base your entire argument on ONE picture from a website with countless articles, information and pictures? That's like saying that Beethoven sucked cause "I heard Moonlight Sonata once and didn't like it". Just to clear up some things I beleive the men in the pic are demonstrating how most people react to a sucker punch. I will find out what is going on in this pic for you, however I think it is ludicrous to base all your assumptions that Senshido is primitive on one picture. However, not to start an argument, I can't help but get the feeling that you are "Ducking" my question by trying to distract. You still have not answered how "Your system is more advanced". I really would like to know. Thanx